Aircraft stranded in Turkey lands in Mumbai | Mumbai news

MUMBAI: After being stranded for more than 40 hours in Turkey, over 250 Virgin Atlantic passengers, including Indians, landed at the Mumbai airport late in the evening on Friday.

The Mumbai-bound flight had taken off on Wednesday morning from London’s Heathrow Airport and was diverted to Turkey’s Diyarbakir Airport following a medical emergency.

Due to the nature of the landing, the aircraft required extensive technical inspection before it was cleared to operate. “The safety and security of our customers and crew remains our highest priority, and we sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused and prolonged delay,” a spokesperson from the airline said on Friday.

One of the passengers on board was London resident Ripal Patel, who was heading to Mumbai to meet his mother. “I am happy to be back home after spending uncertain moments in Turkey,” he said.

As the Turkish airport was a military airbase, passengers were taken to a dark lounge, where many had a tough time, he said.

“In the first few hours, we shared one toilet for a planeload of passengers. The first meal came after 10 hours and we were given a cheese chilly sandwich. One lady had gluten allergy and suffered from health issues. We protested on Thursday. After approaching many officials, we were finally given hotel accommodation on Thursday,” said the London resident.

The flight finally took off on Friday after it was declared fit. It was originally supposed to land in Mumbai at 1.40am on Thursday